The theme emphasizes the need to stay informed on current conditions, such as the weather as it can quickly become dangerous, often with little warning. Being aware of impending events is not only common sense – it can help you and your family take the necessary steps to reduce the impact of these potential disasters.

Here are a few ways to keep informed on developing conditions in your area:

Identify key websites to find out what is happening. A municipality or provincial website, as well as police and emergency management websites may offer alert services or post information for citizens during a disaster.

Download mobile applications to your cell phone and subscribe to text and email alerts that let you know about bad weather, road closures and local emergencies.

We all have a role to play in emergency preparedness and knowing what can happen in your area is an important first step in getting prepared. We all need to know how to take action to protect ourselves and our families during emergencies and EP week is the perfect time for you and your family to practice your plan and adjust it based on new information. By planning ahead, you and your family will be better able to cope if an emergency happens. You can create your own emergency plan online and find more practical tips on the Get Prepared website.

This week is also an opportune time to commend the tremendous work done by our first responders. Emergency management is a joint responsibility and the Government of Canada continues to work together with community leaders, non-government organizations and provincial and territorial partners, to empower Canadians to take action and ensure their families and communities can manage through a disaster.

In fact, I look forward to meeting with my federal, provincial, and territorial counterparts at the end of this week to continue the conversation on how we can further strengthen emergency management in Canada and increase our capacity to prevent, protect against, respond to and recover from major disasters and other emergencies. Together, we are building a more resilient and safer Canada."

Follow Get Prepared (@Get_Prepared) on Twitter or join the online conversation by adding the hashtag #EPWeek to your tweets.